and the sun came out…

Gardening, Veggie Plot 2 Responses »
Mar 012010

Today is the first day that it hasn’t rained or sleeted or snowed for …I can’t remember it’s been so long.  I have managed to give the Honeysuckle a hair cut and fix the climbing net on to the fence. Hopefully it will give the honeysuckle a better hold and stop it flopping about.

We have spent quite a few hours looking at seeds, debating what to grow. A few more weeks a we will start to sow, fingers crossed for a good growing season. Last year seemed to be wet and wetter, not a lot of sun either. Some successes and some failures but that’s the way it goes.

The lemon grass which I started from a piece that was bought at the local supermarket is just about hanging on in the shed where it has been all winter. I really wasn’t sure that it would survive especially as the temperture has be constantly below freezing all winter.

We are still picking the russian kale, jerusalem artichokes, mooli, leeks but the carrots have finished now the last one in the picture.  Soup is still made from the garden produce, not so much variety but it’s very nice, even if  I say it myself.  Fresh from the garden can’t be beaten for flavour.

The squashes we kept in the shed did well and had the weather been a little kinder maybe we would have had a better crop which would have lasted right through the winter, having said that though I’m not disappointed in how the squashes we did grow kept  so we will be doing the same again this year.

The parsley that I planted facing north side of the apple trees, has been an amazing success and we have had enough to cut all through the winter.

I am still using the aubergines we grew and froze, they were a tremendous success, we bought five tiny plants and nursed them on keeping three and giving my Mom two. Ours were outside all summer and produced pounds and pounds of fruit whereas my Moms were in a greenhouse and didn’t. I can only think that the bee’s found it more difficult to pollinate in the greenhouse.

The  apples stored in the shed are still being used.  These have been stored in cardboard fruit trays which came from the supermarket and have been really effective. The last time I used the apples was at the weekend in a Summer Pudding with some frozen damsons and  berries.  Yummy…

All the apple trees have been pruned this year, so maybe we wont get quite as much fruit but they were going skyward and needed to be sorted out. The trees are looking more open now and hopefully it will help keep them in a healthier state too.

Posted by admin at 4:32 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

Palestine Soup

Celery, Jerusalem Artichokes, Onion, Recipes, Savory, Soup 1 Response »
Jan 112010

The Jerusalem Artichoke was brought into England  back in 1617 and John Franqueville gave two small tubers to John Goodyear.   The original name for this tuber was  Girasol and then to Girasolem and onto Jerusalem Artichoke,  is actually from North America but grew so well that it is said John Goodyear stocked all of Hampshire, England.  Now being called Jerusalem Artichokes the soup inevitably became Palestine Soup. I have adapted the recipe that I have to suit us by adding potato but you can try using more or all artichoke it’s a matter of taste.  The original recipe called for smoked bacon but as I don’t eat meat I have attempted to give it some of the smoky flavours and umami taste , you may or may not like it but I think it would lack some of the depth the smokiness gives if not used.  Of course if you eat meat then add 2 rashers of chopped smoked rind-less bacon instead. If you have a better option I would be so pleased to try it out too.

To make this soup you need the following ingredients

1lb of  peeled Jerusalem Artichokes and Potatoes (I used half and half)
1 large Onion diced
2 sticks of Celery
1 good sized clove of Garlic
2oz Butter
2 pts or 1 lr stock (not to salty)
1/2 pt or 1/4 lr milk or milk and cream
salt and pepper to taste
12 toasted hazel nuts ground down roughly
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1teaspoon of Smoked Maldon Salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon of yeast extract
1 teaspoon of good quality soy sauce
The salt,paprika and celery seeds are ground down in a mortise and pestle. The yeast extract and soy sauce are mixed in and then blended with the butter.

Par boil the potatoes and artichokes for 5 mins
Drain and chop
Add the smoked salt mixture to a pan and now add the chopped  potato, artichoke, celery, onion and garlic
Sweat down until all the vegetables are soft
Add the stock and bring to the boil for 5 minutes
Add the milk or milk and cream mix
Whizz to a smooth texture
Serve sprinkle with hazel nuts and chopped parsley.

Posted by admin at 7:42 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

The Apprentices’ Soup

Celery, Jerusalem Artichokes, Leek, Potato, Recipes, Savory, Soup, Winter radish (Mooli) 3 Responses »
Dec 032009

While I was away last Sunday ‘the apprentice’ took over the kitchen and made this lovely winter garden soup.
Apprentice Soup

Fresh from the garden;

4 carrots
4 small winter radish
2 jerusalem artichokes
1 medium leek
4 bay leaves
1 small celery head
2 ‘Rooster’ potatoes
2 ‘Pink fir apple’ potatoes – both waxy so hold together well in soups.
Olive oil to sweat the vegetables
From the garden – stored
3 large shallots
3 garlic cloves
Plus stock, seasoning and bouquet garni

Peel and chop all the vegetables keeping the potatoes separate for use later
Add the olive oil, bouquet garni and vegetables to sweat down until soft
Add the stock and bay leaves
Add seasoning to taste (sea salt and black pepper)
Add the potatoes
Leave to simmer over a low heat until the potatoes are cooked.

Posted by admin at 10:15 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

The Vegetable Plot

Veggie Plot No Responses »
Jan 042009

Today,  it’s time to start planning the vegetable plot.  Our aim always is to make the plot work year round, giving us something fresh throughout the seasons. Now in the midst of winter we have American land cress still going strong also Jerusalem artichokes which can be dug up when needed.  The Swiss chard is hanging in there too. We had a few varieties of squash in the plot last year, which are greatly satisfying to grow and also keep well, as you can see I am still using them in the soup.

We grew carrots in large planters as an experiment, in the past just sown the seeds straight into the earth but we had problems with the carrots forking and carrot fly. Sieving the soil to remove the stones and the height of the planters stopped the carrot fly. So this was a winner…hooray!

We did a similar thing with Mooli (long white radish), having some  black dustbins that were no longer used as we are now in the ‘wheelie bin’ system. The bins washed and disinfected and filled with the same sieved soil as the carrots. Unforturnately they suffered with cabbage root fly, boo hoo, but odd ones survived and grew to about 18″ or 45cm. so definitely something to work on there.

Having sorted  the seeds that need to be sown now, Red Baron onion, West Indian Lemon Grass, Aubergine Thai Green Pea, Aubergine Thai Yellow Egg.  We attempted the aubergines last year but had left it to late so we’ll see if we get them in earlier if we have more success. We try to grow something different each year some succeed some don’t but it’s fun and interesting to explore the possibilities.

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